If you followed the progress of Kobo in 2012, then it would be fair to surmise the company was bucking market trends and going from strength to strength with ereader sales.
However they have recently taken two massive blows in succession that they may struggle to recover from.
It will be interesting to watch and see if 2013 is just a blip or a major disruption to Kobo's success.
Owens, L., (2013) Kobo stop using the Amazon based Goodreads API GigaOm [blog] Available at <http://gigaom.com/2013/08/30/kobo-stops-using-the-amazon-owned-goodreads-api/>
Hoffeider, N., 2013 Kobo’s New “Premium eReader” Went From Cutting Edge to Out-of-Date in Only a Week, The Digital Reader [blog] 4 September 2013. Available at: <http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2013/09/04/kobos-new-premium-ereader-went-cutting-edge-date-week/#.Uin4OBa2Py8>
However they have recently taken two massive blows in succession that they may struggle to recover from.
- Goodreads was Kobo's supplier of ebook reviews... but now that is owned by Amazon, they've turned off the review feed. No ebook reviews means little to persuade customers to buy ebooks.
- The e-ink screens in Kobo's shiny new range of devices is suddenly very old tech (Hoffeider 2013). A new generation of e-ink technology has been launched with faster screen refresh rates and increased contrast. Kobo's new device doesn't have it.
It will be interesting to watch and see if 2013 is just a blip or a major disruption to Kobo's success.
Owens, L., (2013) Kobo stop using the Amazon based Goodreads API GigaOm [blog] Available at <http://gigaom.com/2013/08/30/kobo-stops-using-the-amazon-owned-goodreads-api/>
Hoffeider, N., 2013 Kobo’s New “Premium eReader” Went From Cutting Edge to Out-of-Date in Only a Week, The Digital Reader [blog] 4 September 2013. Available at: <http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2013/09/04/kobos-new-premium-ereader-went-cutting-edge-date-week/#.Uin4OBa2Py8>